Liberal Arts Services

Korea program at the University of Texas at Austin

The Korea program is part of the Department of Asian Studies. The Department was established in 1994 to provide a focus within The University of Texas at Austin for the creation and dissemination of knowledge about Asia. Our goal is to use the academic resources of The University of Texas at Austin to promote international cultural, economic, and political understanding. Today the Korea program is developing rapidly, in keeping with expanding interest in this field.

Each year, the program sponsors a number of events to actively promote all aspects of Korean studies at The University of Texas at Austin. In addition, the Korean program hosts international academic fora, conferences, and meetings in co-sponsorship with the Japan program, the Center for East Asian Studies, and the Department of Asian Studies. As part of the yearly schedule of visiting lectures, the Center for Korean Studies sponsors a vigorous program of scholarly exchange. Distinguished visitors from Korea, including individuals from public life and diplomatic service, as well as Korea specialists from other American universities, visit Austin to contribute to the intellectual life of our University.

The Program also provides assistance grants to scholars doing research in Korean Studies in the humanities and social sciences. Major financial support from the Korea Foundation/POSCO Korean Studies endowment helps to support postdoctoral fellowships, distinguished visiting specialists to teach about Korea, graduate student fellowships, as well as colloquia, conferences, faculty research, and publications development.

Degree Programs

The Korea Program offers courses in the language, history, culture, religion, and literatures of Korea. The Program also covers the contemporary issues facing Korea: from economic and ecological issues to security and ethnic conflicts.

B.A. in Asian Studies

The undergraduate major in Asian Studies provides a solid and broad background in classical and cotemporary Asia for students with a variety of career goals. Two years of study of the Korean language are required.
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The Department offers two parallel degree tracks for graduate majors:

M.A. in Asian Studies
The M.A. in Asian Studies is designed for students who will pursue non-academic careers in business, communications, government, law, high-school teaching, and the like. In addition, there are two dual degree M.A. programs: one with the LBJ School of Public Affairs and the other with the McCombs School of Business.
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Courses
The Department offers a range of carefully developed undergraduate and graduate courses, from general courses in the history and culture of Asia at the introductory level to upper-division and graduate seminars. We structure our introductory and upper-level undergraduate courses to provide an excellent foundation in various cultural and historical aspects of Asia for the student body of The University of Texas. Apart from general survey courses, we also offer specialty courses in such varied topics as Ethics in Asia, Globalization in East Asia, and Asian Concepts of Body and Self, as well as a wide range of classes on the religions of Asia. We also offer beginning through graduate-level Korean language courses. Instruction in Asian languages is targeted at students intending to major in our Department and at students in other programs seeking competence in an Asian language to fulfill general degree requirements.